The tradition of the English novel spans over three centuries of immense social, political, and stylistic transformation. From Daniel Defoe’s 18th-century realistic chronicles and Jane Austen’s Regency comedies of manners to the sweeping Victorian social critiques of Charles Dickens and George Eliot, and the experimental modernist breakthroughs of Virginia Woolf and James Joyce, English fiction has continuously redefined human storytelling. These masterworks reflect the shifting values, class structures, and psychological depths of British society. Mastering the vital connections between iconic English novels and their creators is essential for academic literature examinations and comprehensive historical scholarship.
1. Which author wrote the classic novel 'Pride and Prejudice'?
Correct Answer: b) Jane Austen
Explanation:
Jane Austen published 'Pride and Prejudice' in 1813. It remains one of the most popular novels in English literature.
2. What is the title of George Orwell's dystopian novel published in 1949?
Correct Answer: c) 1984
Explanation:
'1984' is George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future, featuring totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation.
3. Who wrote 'To Kill a Mockingbird', a novel addressing racial injustice in the American South?
Correct Answer: a) Harper Lee
Explanation:
Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for 'To Kill a Mockingbird', published in 1960.
4. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby', who is the narrator of the story?
Correct Answer: c) Nick Carraway
Explanation:
Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate and World War I veteran, moves to West Egg and serves as the narrator of the novel.
5. Which novel begins with the famous line, 'Call me Ishmael'?
Correct Answer: c) Moby-Dick
Explanation:
Herman Melville's 'Moby-Dick' (1851) opens with this iconic line, introducing the narrator of the epic whaling voyage.
6. Which of the Brontë sisters wrote 'Jane Eyre'?
Correct Answer: b) Charlotte Brontë
Explanation:
Charlotte Brontë published 'Jane Eyre' in 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell.
7. Who is the passionate and vengeful protagonist of Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights'?
Correct Answer: c) Heathcliff
Explanation:
Heathcliff is the dark, brooding central character of 'Wuthering Heights', known for his intense love for Catherine Earnshaw.
8. Which Charles Dickens novel follows the life and growth of an orphan named Pip?
Correct Answer: d) Great Expectations
Explanation:
'Great Expectations' traces the coming of age of an orphan named Pip, dealing with themes of wealth, poverty, and personal growth.
9. Who is the teenage protagonist of J.D. Salinger's 'The Catcher in the Rye'?
Correct Answer: a) Holden Caulfield
Explanation:
Holden Caulfield is the iconic, rebellious teenage protagonist whose narrative voice defines 'The Catcher in the Rye'.
10. Which author won the Nobel Prize in Literature and wrote 'Lord of the Flies'?
Correct Answer: b) William Golding
Explanation:
William Golding wrote 'Lord of the Flies' (1954), a novel about a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island, and he won the Nobel Prize in 1983.
11. Mary Shelley wrote 'Frankenstein' as a result of a ghost story competition proposed by whom?
Correct Answer: b) Lord Byron
Explanation:
During a wet summer in Switzerland in 1816, Lord Byron suggested that he, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and John Polidori each write a ghost story.
12. Which novel by Aldous Huxley depicts a dystopian future where citizens are engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarchy?
Correct Answer: a) Brave New World
Explanation:
Published in 1932, 'Brave New World' explores a futuristic society driven by technological interventions, conditioning, and a drug called soma.
13. Which American author wrote 'The Grapes of Wrath', chronicling the Joad family's journey during the Great Depression?
Correct Answer: c) John Steinbeck
Explanation:
John Steinbeck published 'The Grapes of Wrath' in 1939, capturing the struggles of tenant farmers migrating to California.
14. What is the title of Joseph Heller's satirical World War II novel featuring Captain John Yossarian?
Correct Answer: b) Catch-22
Explanation:
'Catch-22' is a dark comedy that popularized the term for a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules.
15. Which Nobel Laureate wrote 'Beloved', a novel about a formerly enslaved woman named Sethe?
Correct Answer: d) Toni Morrison
Explanation:
Toni Morrison's 'Beloved' (1987) won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and profoundly explores the traumatic legacy of slavery.
16. What is the only novel written by American poet Sylvia Plath, published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas?
Correct Answer: a) The Bell Jar
Explanation:
'The Bell Jar' is a semi-autobiographical novel detailing the protagonist Esther Greenwood's descent into mental illness.
17. Who authored the 1897 Gothic horror novel 'Dracula'?
Correct Answer: c) Bram Stoker
Explanation:
Irish author Bram Stoker wrote 'Dracula', which introduced the character of Count Dracula and established many conventions of vampire fantasy.
18. In Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', what happens to the portrait as Dorian commits sinful acts?
Correct Answer: b) It ages and becomes physically disfigured
Explanation:
The painting absorbs the moral corruption and aging of Dorian Gray, while he remains young and beautiful.
19. What was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, the author of 'Middlemarch'?
Correct Answer: a) George Eliot
Explanation:
Mary Ann Evans used the pen name George Eliot to ensure her works were taken seriously in a male-dominated literary world.
20. Which English novelist wrote 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles'?
Correct Answer: b) Thomas Hardy
Explanation:
Thomas Hardy published 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' in 1891. It challenged the sexual morals of late Victorian England.
21. Which modernist novel by James Joyce chronicles a single day in the life of Leopold Bloom in Dublin?
Correct Answer: d) Ulysses
Explanation:
'Ulysses' takes place entirely on June 16, 1904, and parallels the episodes of Homer's epic poem The Odyssey.
22. Virginia Woolf's 'Mrs. Dalloway' takes place over the course of how much time?
Correct Answer: c) One day
Explanation:
The novel details a single day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares to host a party in post-World War I London.
23. Which author wrote 'A Passage to India', examining the complex relationship between the British and Indians under colonial rule?
Correct Answer: b) E.M. Forster
Explanation:
Published in 1924, E.M. Forster's 'A Passage to India' explores the racial tensions and prejudices during the British Raj.
24. Who wrote 'Heart of Darkness', a novella about a voyage up the Congo River?
Correct Answer: b) Joseph Conrad
Explanation:
Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella critiques European imperialism in Africa through the narrator Charles Marlow's search for the ivory trader Kurtz.
25. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter', what letter is Hester Prynne forced to wear?
Correct Answer: a) A
Explanation:
Hester is forced to wear a scarlet 'A' on her dress, standing for 'Adulteress', as punishment in her Puritan community.
26. Which novel by Mark Twain features a young boy traveling down the Mississippi River with an escaped enslaved man named Jim?
Correct Answer: c) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Explanation:
Often called the Great American Novel, it is noted for its vernacular English and sharp critique of entrenched attitudes, particularly racism.
27. Who is the author of 'Fahrenheit 451', a novel about a society where books are outlawed and 'firemen' burn them?
Correct Answer: b) Ray Bradbury
Explanation:
Ray Bradbury's 1953 dystopian novel follows fireman Guy Montag, who becomes disillusioned with his role of censoring literature and destroying knowledge.
28. What is the name of the protagonist who becomes 'unstuck in time' in Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse-Five'?
Correct Answer: b) Billy Pilgrim
Explanation:
Billy Pilgrim is an American soldier and optometrist whose non-linear experiences include surviving the firebombing of Dresden and encountering aliens.
29. George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' is an allegorical critique of which historical event?
Correct Answer: c) The Russian Revolution
Explanation:
The novel is a political allegory that reflects the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Stalinist era.
30. Who wrote 'Invisible Man', a seminal novel about the struggles of an unnamed African American protagonist?
Correct Answer: d) Ralph Ellison
Explanation:
Published in 1952, Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible Man' addresses social and intellectual issues faced by African Americans in the early 20th century.
31. Alice Walker's epistolary novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983, is titled what?
Correct Answer: a) The Color Purple
Explanation:
The novel focuses on the life of African American women in the southern United States in the 1930s, primarily told through the letters of the protagonist, Celie.
32. Which Nigerian author wrote 'Things Fall Apart', considered a milestone in African literature?
Correct Answer: b) Chinua Achebe
Explanation:
Published in 1958, Achebe's novel depicts pre-colonial life in southeastern Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century.
33. Salman Rushdie won the Booker of Bookers for which novel regarding India's transition to independence?
Correct Answer: c) Midnight's Children
Explanation:
The novel follows Saleem Sinai, born at the exact moment of India's independence, whose life is inextricably linked to his country's history.
34. In Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale', what is the name of the totalitarian state that replaces the USA?
Correct Answer: b) Gilead
Explanation:
The Republic of Gilead is a theocratic, totalitarian regime that enforces strict social roles and enslaves fertile women as 'Handmaids'.
35. Which Charles Dickens novel begins with, 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'?
Correct Answer: a) A Tale of Two Cities
Explanation:
Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, this is one of the best-selling novels of all time.
36. Which Jane Austen novel features the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne?
Correct Answer: c) Sense and Sensibility
Explanation:
Elinor represents 'sense' (logic and restraint), while Marianne represents 'sensibility' (emotion and spontaneity).
37. Which Ernest Hemingway novel features an aging Cuban fisherman named Santiago?
Correct Answer: b) The Old Man and the Sea
Explanation:
This short novel earned Hemingway the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and contributed to his Nobel Prize in 1954.
38. John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' follows the tragic story of two displaced ranch workers named George Milton and who else?
Correct Answer: d) Lennie Small
Explanation:
Lennie Small is a physically large but mentally disabled man who travels with his intelligent but uneducated friend, George.
39. Which author wrote the controversial 1955 novel 'Lolita'?
Correct Answer: a) Vladimir Nabokov
Explanation:
Written in English by the Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov, 'Lolita' is famous for its brilliant prose and highly controversial subject matter.
40. Who authored the high-fantasy epic 'The Lord of the Rings'?
Correct Answer: c) J.R.R. Tolkien
Explanation:
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote 'The Lord of the Rings' as a sequel to his 1937 novel 'The Hobbit'. It is one of the best-selling works of fiction ever written.
41. What is the name of the Hobbit protagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit'?
Correct Answer: c) Bilbo Baggins
Explanation:
Bilbo Baggins is the titular character of 'The Hobbit', who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a dragon.
42. Which Jane Austen novel centers on a 'handsome, clever, and rich' protagonist who fancies herself a matchmaker?
Correct Answer: b) Emma
Explanation:
'Emma' explores the romantic misadventures of its titular character, Emma Woodhouse, whose matchmaking causes unintended complications.
43. Which of Charles Dickens's novels is considered his most autobiographical?
Correct Answer: a) David Copperfield
Explanation:
Dickens himself called 'David Copperfield' his 'favorite child', and it heavily draws from his own life experiences.
44. Who wrote 'Vanity Fair', a satirical novel featuring the character Becky Sharp?
Correct Answer: b) William Makepeace Thackeray
Explanation:
Thackeray's 'Vanity Fair' (1848) satirizes society in early 19th-century Britain, following the lives of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley.
45. Which Ernest Hemingway novel is widely considered the defining work of the 'Lost Generation'?
Correct Answer: c) The Sun Also Rises
Explanation:
Published in 1926, the novel follows a group of American and British expatriates traveling to Pamplona, Spain, capturing the disillusionment of the post-WWI generation.
46. Set during World War I, which Ernest Hemingway novel is based heavily on his own experiences as an ambulance driver in Italy?
Correct Answer: b) A Farewell to Arms
Explanation:
'A Farewell to Arms' details the romance between American paramedic Frederic Henry and English nurse Catherine Barkley.
47. Which William Faulkner novel employs stream of consciousness to tell the story of the Compson family?
Correct Answer: b) The Sound and the Fury
Explanation:
Published in 1929, it is divided into four sections, each narrated from a different perspective, showcasing the downfall of a Southern aristocratic family.
48. Which novel by William Faulkner follows the Bundren family as they journey to Jefferson to bury their matriarch?
Correct Answer: a) As I Lay Dying
Explanation:
The novel uses 15 different narrators over 59 chapters to recount the darkly comic and tragic quest to bury Addie Bundren.
49. Which defining novel of the Beat Generation was written by Jack Kerouac based on his travels with Neal Cassady?
Correct Answer: c) On the Road
Explanation:
Kerouac famously typed 'On the Road' on a continuous scroll of paper in 1951, capturing the restless energy of post-war American youth.
50. Anthony Burgess wrote a dystopian novella featuring a violent youth named Alex. What is its title?
Correct Answer: b) A Clockwork Orange
Explanation:
The 1962 novella examines themes of free will, morality, and extreme state conditioning, famously featuring the fictional slang 'Nadsat'.
51. Which influential 1940 novel by Richard Wright tells the story of Bigger Thomas, a young African American man living in poverty in Chicago?
Correct Answer: c) Native Son
Explanation:
'Native Son' was a massive critical and commercial success that forced readers to confront the systemic racism and socioeconomic pressures of urban America.
52. Who wrote the 1937 novel 'Their Eyes Were Watching God', an essential work of the Harlem Renaissance?
Correct Answer: a) Zora Neale Hurston
Explanation:
The novel follows the life and spiritual awakening of Janie Crawford in the American South.
53. James Baldwin's semi-autobiographical debut novel, focusing on a teenager's spiritual and family struggles in Harlem, is called:
Correct Answer: c) Go Tell It on the Mountain
Explanation:
Published in 1953, the novel explores the role of the Christian Church in the lives of African Americans as well as themes of identity.
54. Which author wrote 'The Joy Luck Club', exploring the relationships between Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters?
Correct Answer: b) Amy Tan
Explanation:
Amy Tan's 1989 debut novel is structured around four families in San Francisco who meet to play mahjong and share their stories.
55. Arundhati Roy won the Booker Prize in 1997 for which debut novel set in Kerala, India?
Correct Answer: b) The God of Small Things
Explanation:
The novel tells the story of fraternal twins Rahel and Esthappen, exploring how the 'Love Laws' dictate who should be loved, and how.
56. Which novel by Yann Martel features an Indian boy surviving on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker?
Correct Answer: a) Life of Pi
Explanation:
Published in 2001, 'Life of Pi' is a philosophical novel exploring themes of religion, truth, and survival.
57. Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopian science fiction novel about clones raised to donate organs is titled:
Correct Answer: c) Never Let Me Go
Explanation:
Published in 2005, 'Never Let Me Go' focuses on the haunting experiences of Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth at the Hailsham boarding school.
58. Which Kazuo Ishiguro novel features Stevens, a dedicated English butler reflecting on his life of service?
Correct Answer: d) The Remains of the Day
Explanation:
Ishiguro won the Booker Prize for this 1989 novel, which beautifully captures post-war British societal shifts and personal regret.
59. Ian McEwan's 2001 novel, which centers on a false accusation made by a young girl named Briony Tallis, is called:
Correct Answer: b) Atonement
Explanation:
'Atonement' covers several decades, starting in 1935, and explores guilt, memory, and the power of narrative.
60. Which Nobel laureate wrote 'The Golden Notebook', a pioneering feminist novel published in 1962?
Correct Answer: a) Doris Lessing
Explanation:
Doris Lessing's 'The Golden Notebook' integrates the fragmented life of writer Anna Wulf through differently colored notebooks.
61. Zadie Smith's acclaimed debut novel, centering on the multicultural experiences of two wartime friends in London, is:
Correct Answer: c) White Teeth
Explanation:
Published in 2000, 'White Teeth' became an instant classic, exploring themes of race, history, and identity in modern Britain.
62. What is the title of the sci-fi comedy series and novel created by Douglas Adams, which notes the answer to the ultimate question is 42?
Correct Answer: c) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Explanation:
Originally a radio broadcast in 1978, the novel became a beloved cult classic featuring Arthur Dent's intergalactic misadventures.
63. Frank Herbert authored which legendary 1965 science fiction novel set on the desert planet Arrakis?
Correct Answer: b) Dune
Explanation:
'Dune' is a highly influential space opera focusing on politics, religion, and ecology through the journey of Paul Atreides.
64. Which 1984 novel by William Gibson popularized the cyberpunk genre and the term 'cyberspace'?
Correct Answer: a) Neuromancer
Explanation:
'Neuromancer' won the Nebula, Hugo, and Philip K. Dick Awards, heavily influencing the aesthetics and concepts of modern sci-fi.
65. Ursula K. Le Guin's sci-fi novel about a human emissary visiting a planet where the inhabitants are ambisexual is called:
Correct Answer: d) The Left Hand of Darkness
Explanation:
Published in 1969, the novel is a landmark of feminist science fiction that deeply explores gender and sociology.
66. Which Charles Dickens novel famously features the line, 'Please, sir, I want some more'?
Correct Answer: b) Oliver Twist
Explanation:
Oliver Twist utters this famous line when he dares to ask for a second serving of gruel in the workhouse.
67. Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel about a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island is named:
Correct Answer: c) Robinson Crusoe
Explanation:
Often cited as the first English novel, it was inspired by the real-life experiences of Alexander Selkirk.
68. In Jonathan Swift's satirical novel 'Gulliver's Travels', what is the name of the island populated by tiny people?
Correct Answer: d) Lilliput
Explanation:
Lemuel Gulliver's first voyage takes him to Lilliput, where the inhabitants are merely six inches tall.
69. Which 18th-century epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson is one of the longest novels in the English language?
Correct Answer: b) Clarissa
Explanation:
'Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady' (1748) is renowned for its immense length and deep psychological exploration of its tragic heroine.
70. Henry Fielding wrote which comic novel that follows the life of a foundling boy?
Correct Answer: a) The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
Explanation:
Published in 1749, 'Tom Jones' is a picaresque and comedic masterpiece defining early English novel development.
71. Laurence Sterne's highly experimental and digressive 18th-century novel is titled:
Correct Answer: b) The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
Explanation:
'Tristram Shandy' broke narrative conventions with its blank pages, endless digressions, and non-linear storytelling.
72. Which beloved American classic by Louisa May Alcott follows the lives of the four March sisters?
Correct Answer: c) Little Women
Explanation:
Published in 1868, 'Little Women' details the passage from childhood to womanhood of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March.
73. Kate Chopin's 1899 novel, widely condemned at the time for its depiction of female sexuality and independence, is titled:
Correct Answer: b) The Awakening
Explanation:
Set in Louisiana, it follows Edna Pontellier's struggle to find personal freedom and identity outside her roles as wife and mother.
74. What is the title of James Joyce's first novel, a heavily autobiographical coming-of-age story?
Correct Answer: d) A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Explanation:
The novel charts the religious and intellectual awakening of Stephen Dedalus, Joyce's fictional alter ego.
75. Which novel by Virginia Woolf utilizes shifting perspectives to explore the Ramsay family's visits to the Isle of Skye?
Correct Answer: c) To the Lighthouse
Explanation:
Published in 1927, it is a landmark of modernist literature, heavily employing stream-of-consciousness narrative.
76. Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote a classic children's novel about an orphaned girl named Mary Lennox who moves to Yorkshire. What is it called?
Correct Answer: b) The Secret Garden
Explanation:
Mary Lennox discovers a neglected garden on her uncle's estate, leading to her own emotional and physical healing.
77. Who is the author of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'?
Correct Answer: c) Lewis Carroll
Explanation:
Lewis Carroll (pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) published the iconic fantasy novel about Alice falling down a rabbit hole in 1865.
78. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote which classic adventure novel featuring Long John Silver?
Correct Answer: b) Treasure Island
Explanation:
Published in 1883, 'Treasure Island' heavily influenced the popular perception of pirates, including maps with an 'X' and one-legged seamen.
79. Which Robert Louis Stevenson novella explores the duality of human nature through a doctor and his monstrous alter ego?
Correct Answer: c) The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Explanation:
The 1886 novella coined the phrase 'Jekyll and Hyde', representing a person with a vastly different moral character in different situations.
80. H.G. Wells wrote an early science fiction novel about a Martian invasion of Earth titled:
Correct Answer: d) The War of the Worlds
Explanation:
Published in 1898, it is one of the earliest stories to detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race.
81. In H.G. Wells's 'The Time Machine', what are the two evolutionary descendant races of humanity?
Correct Answer: a) The Eloi and the Morlocks
Explanation:
The Time Traveler goes to the year 802,701 AD and finds humanity split into the peaceful, childlike Eloi and the subterranean, monstrous Morlocks.
82. Which Arthur Conan Doyle novel features Sherlock Holmes investigating a supposed demonic dog haunting the moors of Devon?
Correct Answer: d) The Hound of the Baskervilles
Explanation:
It is one of the most famous Sherlock Holmes mysteries, dealing with an ancient curse and a spectral hound.
83. Kenneth Grahame authored which classic children's book featuring Mole, Ratty, Toad, and Badger?
Correct Answer: b) The Wind in the Willows
Explanation:
Published in 1908, the novel is celebrated for its mix of mysticism, adventure, and camaraderie along the English countryside.
84. Richard Adams wrote a heroic fantasy novel where the main characters are a small group of rabbits. What is its title?
Correct Answer: c) Watership Down
Explanation:
The 1972 novel follows a group of anthropomorphized rabbits escaping the destruction of their warren to seek a new home.
85. Which C.S. Lewis novel introduces readers to the magical land of Narnia via a piece of furniture?
Correct Answer: b) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Explanation:
Published in 1950, it is the most famous book in 'The Chronicles of Narnia' series, following the four Pevensie children.
86. What is the title of the first book in J.K. Rowling's massively successful Harry Potter series?
Correct Answer: c) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Explanation:
Published in the UK as 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' in 1997, it introduced the Boy Who Lived to the world.
87. Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy 'His Dark Materials' begins with which novel (known as 'The Golden Compass' in the US)?
Correct Answer: a) Northern Lights
Explanation:
'Northern Lights' follows Lyra Belacqua's journey to the Arctic in search of her missing friend and her imprisoned uncle.
88. Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize for which post-apocalyptic novel featuring a father and son traveling through a burned landscape?
Correct Answer: c) The Road
Explanation:
Published in 2006, 'The Road' is a bleak yet moving story of survival, love, and the preservation of goodness ('carrying the fire').
89. Which violently epic Western novel by Cormac McCarthy features a character known only as 'The Judge'?
Correct Answer: b) Blood Meridian
Explanation:
'Blood Meridian' (1985) is widely regarded as McCarthy's masterpiece, detailing the brutal exploits of the Glanton gang.
90. Stephen King's massive post-apocalyptic novel detailing the aftermath of a weaponized influenza pandemic is called:
Correct Answer: b) The Stand
Explanation:
Originally published in 1978, 'The Stand' is an epic battle of good versus evil set in a plague-decimated America.
91. Which Stephen King novel centers on the Torrance family acting as winter caretakers at the haunted Overlook Hotel?
Correct Answer: d) The Shining
Explanation:
Published in 1977, 'The Shining' follows Jack Torrance's descent into madness while his psychic son Danny experiences terrifying visions.
92. Philip K. Dick wrote which science fiction novel that inspired the movie 'Blade Runner'?
Correct Answer: c) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Explanation:
The 1968 novel explores what it means to be human through the story of Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter who 'retires' rogue androids.
93. Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood' pioneered the 'non-fiction novel' genre. What is the book about?
Correct Answer: b) The 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Kansas
Explanation:
Capote spent years researching the senseless murders of the Clutter family, blending intense factual reporting with literary narrative techniques.
94. Which author became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 1920 novel 'The Age of Innocence'?
Correct Answer: a) Edith Wharton
Explanation:
Wharton won the Pulitzer in 1921 for this novel, which incisively chronicles the stifling social mores of upper-class Gilded Age New York.
95. Donna Tartt's debut novel, centering on a group of classics students at an elite Vermont college who commit murder, is called:
Correct Answer: b) The Secret History
Explanation:
Published in 1992, it popularized the 'dark academia' subgenre through an inverted detective story where the killers are known from the start.
96. W. Somerset Maugham's masterpiece, a semi-autobiographical novel about Philip Carey's pursuit of meaning and his obsession with Mildred Rogers, is titled:
Correct Answer: c) Of Human Bondage
Explanation:
Published in 1915, the novel is considered Maugham's magnum opus and takes its title from a section of Spinoza's 'Ethics'.
97. Thomas Pynchon's complex, encyclopedic postmodern novel concerning the V-2 rocket program at the end of WWII is:
Correct Answer: c) Gravity's Rainbow
Explanation:
Winner of the 1974 National Book Award, it is famous for its dense, challenging prose and massive scope.
98. John Irving's breakthrough 1978 novel, dealing with themes of feminism, lust, and tragicomedy through the life of T.S. Garp, is:
Correct Answer: c) The World According to Garp
Explanation:
It became an international bestseller and secured Irving's reputation as a premier contemporary American novelist.
99. Ken Kesey's 1962 novel, set in an Oregon psychiatric hospital and narrated by 'Chief' Bromden, is titled:
Correct Answer: b) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Explanation:
The novel pits the rebellious Randle McMurphy against the tyrannical Nurse Ratched, examining institutional power and sanity.
100. George R.R. Martin is the author of 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. What is the title of the first book in this epic fantasy series?
Correct Answer: d) A Game of Thrones
Explanation:
Published in 1996, 'A Game of Thrones' introduced readers to the warring noble families of Westeros.
